Republican Congressman Rod Blum (IA) faced lots of fury at his town hall earlier this month. They were angry about — you guessed it — his vote for the Affordable Health Care Act.
During the town hall, Rep. Blum went into an irrational tirade in defense of his vote for legislation that would lead to millions losing insurance coverage — and the inevitable deaths of people without proper health care. He tried to complain about Obamacare’s essential health benefits requirement, which mandated insurance plans to cover things like maternity care. From the Washington Post:
“Get rid of some of these crazy regulations that Obamacare puts in,” Blum suggested at an Iowa town hall meeting Monday, “such as a 62-year-old male having to have pregnancy insurance.” The crowd yelled all the louder.
This is, of course, absurd. Health insurance isn’t something where you complain about paying for people with cancer because you do not have it. The whole point of insurance is shared costs — by paying into the system, folks who may need more expensive care can get it. Reasonable, right? Unfortunately, Republicans don’t think so.
One of his constituents, a woman named Barbara Rank, submitted a response to her woefully ignorant (or maybe just plain evil) congressman in the local newspaper. Her 96-word explanation, published in the Telegraph Herald, is a perfect summary of how insurance — and society — works. Republicans like to complain about paying into a system that helps people who aren’t themselves, but they seem to forget that’s how government works. Fortunately for us, Rank knows better and dropped some serious knowledge with the world. Here’s her reply to Rep. Blum in all its glory, which read:
*insert mic drop here*
Congressman Rod Blum in a Dubuque town hall (Monday) night asked, “Why should a 62-year-old man have to pay for maternity care?”
I ask, why should I pay for a bridge I don’t cross, a sidewalk I don’t walk on, a library book I don’t read?
Why should I pay for a flower I won’t smell, a park I don’t visit, or art I can’t appreciate? Why should I pay the salaries of politicians I didn’t vote for, a tax cut that doesn’t affect me, or a loophole I can’t take advantage of?
It’s called democracy, a civil society, the greater good. That’s what we pay for.
Beautiful.
Watch Rep. Rod Blum’s ridiculoussness in action below:
